Virtual home inspection

ABSTRACT

A method, system and computer-readable medium are provided for facilitating a virtual inspection of an insurable area, the method including the steps of receiving an indication of a request from a user at a user mobile device to perform a virtual inspection of an insurable area, determining one or more information items needed with respect to the insurable area, providing a set of instructions to the user at the mobile device for capturing one or more image items based on the determined one or more information items, receiving a set of image items from the mobile device in response to the instructions and providing an insurance decision for the insurable area based on the received set of image items.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/847,056, entitled “Virtual Home Inspection,”filed on Jul. 16, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Field

The present disclosure generally relates to insurance services, and moreparticularly to property inspection for property insurance.

Description of the Related Art

The homeowners insurance industry uses certified property inspectors toprovide property inspection data. The property inspection data providesrisk characteristic information to an insurance carrier to be used bythe insurance carrier in rating and underwriting a property's insurancepolicy. The cost of having the certified property inspector sent to theproperty is often passed along to the consumer purchasing the insurancepolicy.

SUMMARY

In certain embodiments, a method is provided for facilitating virtualinspection of an insurable area. The method includes the steps ofreceiving an indication of a request from a user at a user mobile deviceto perform a virtual inspection of an insurable area, determining one ormore information items needed with respect to the insurable area,providing a set of instructions to the user at the mobile device forcapturing one or more image items based on the determined one or moreinformation items, receiving a set of image items from the mobile devicein response to the instructions and providing an insurance decision forthe insurable area based on the received set of image items.

In certain embodiments, a system for facilitating a virtual inspectionof an insurable area is provided. The system includes a clientapplication installed at a user mobile device and a server for hostingthe client application. In certain embodiments, the server includes oneor more processors and a machine-readable medium including instructionsstored therein, which when executed by the processors, cause theprocessors to perform operations. The operations include receiving arequest from the mobile device to perform a virtual inspection of aninsurable area, determining one or more information items needed withrespect to the insurable area, providing a set of instructions to theuser at the mobile device for capturing one or more image items based onthe determined one or more information items, receiving a set of imageitems from the mobile device in response to the instructions, analyzingthe set of image items and extracting at least one of the one or moreinformation items from the set of image items.

In certain embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions stored thereon for execution by aprocessor to perform a method for facilitating a virtual inspection ofan insurable area is provided. The method may include the steps ofreceiving an indication of a request from a user at a user mobile deviceto perform a virtual inspection of an insurable area, determining one ormore information items needed with respect to the insurable area,providing a set of instructions to the user at the mobile device forcapturing one or more image items based on the determined one or moreinformation items, the instructions identifying a list of areas of theinsurable area, receiving a set of image items from the mobile device inresponse to the instructions, the set of image items providing imagesfrom one or more of the list of areas of the insurable area andproviding an insurance decision for the insurable area based on thereceived set of image items.

It is understood that other configurations of the subject technologywill become readily apparent from the following detailed description,where various configurations of the subject technology are shown anddescribed by way of illustration. As will be realized, the subjecttechnology is capable of other and different configurations and itsseveral details are capable of modification in various other respects,all without departing from the scope of the subject technology.Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide furtherunderstanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and together with thedescription serve to explain the principles of the disclosedembodiments. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example client-server network environment, whichprovides for facilitating inspection of an insurable area conducted by acustomer or potential customer (“user”).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example process for facilitating a virtualinspection of an insurable area.

FIGS. 3A-3D and 4A-4D illustrate example graphical user interfaces(“UI”) provided to a user to facilitate a virtual inspection using amobile device.

FIG. 5 conceptually illustrates an electronic system with which someimplementations of the subject technology are implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofvarious configurations of the subject technology and is not intended torepresent the only configurations in which the subject technology may bepracticed. The appended drawings are incorporated herein and constitutea part of the detailed description. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof the subject technology. However, it will be clear and apparent thatthe subject technology is not limited to the specific details set forthherein and may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known structures and techniques have not been shown indetail so as not to obscure the disclosure.

Some examples provided herein describe identifying and/or storing userproperty information. In several examples, identification of suchinformation is performed after the user each user grants explicitpermission for such user information to be identified and stored inmemory. Each user may be provided notice that such user information willbe stored with such explicit consent. The stored user information may beencrypted to protect user security.

The disclosed systems and methods facilitate providing a customer orpotential customer of an insurance carrier with an ability to completean inspection of an insurable area on behalf of the insurance carrier(e.g., for a discounted rate). The term “insurable area,” as usedherein, may refer to an improvement to real property, including, forexample, semi-permanent and permanent structures on real property (e.g.residential or business). The system may be provided in the form of amobile application running on the customer's mobile device, which may bea smartphone. The inspection completed by the user may provide riskcharacteristic information to the carrier to be used in rating andunderwriting the policy. Accordingly, the disclosed system allows aproperty inspection to be completed remotely without the cost of thephysical presence of an inspector (e.g., being passed on to a consumer),and technology in the disclosed system can save research time on valuingproducts.

To make decisions regarding the insuring of an insurable area (e.g., aresidential dwelling or place of business) a set of information isneeded to determine if the insurable area is insurable (e.g., theinsurance to value ratio of the insurable area meets a defined thresholdsuch that the risk of insuring the insurable area is justified), andfurther to determine the correct rate for the insurance (e.g., based onthe insurance to value ratio and condition of the insurable area). Theinsurance to value ratio of an insurable area may be determined based onthe replacement cost of the insurable area. Information such as the sizeand condition of the insurable area may be used for determining the costof replacement for the insurable area.

The information may be determined based on information provided by or onbehalf of the customer (“user provided information”) (e.g., from a formfilled in for the application, or through other services). The userprovided information may include data needed to determine a replacementcost value for the insurable area (e.g., for an insurance to valuedetermination). Typically, an inspection of the insurable area isnecessary to verify that the user provided information is accurate(e.g., reflects the real size and condition of the insurable area). Thisverification is critical as the information is used to make underwritingand rate decisions. The system and method disclosed herein facilitatesthe collection and verification of information needed for making adecision regarding insuring an insurable area without the need for aninspector.

In relation to a new homeowner's policy, a virtual pre-inspection of aninsurable area would result in saved cost and convenience for theinsurance carrier and the customer. A mobile application that is gearedtowards ensuring that requisite required information is gathered andverified by the insurer, without the need for an inspector, facilitatesthis process.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example client-server network environment, whichprovides for facilitating inspection of an insurable area conducted by acustomer or potential customer (“user”). A network environment 100includes a number of electronic devices 102, 104, 106 communicablyconnected to a server 110 and one or more remote servers 120 by anetwork 108. Network 108 can be a public communication network (e.g.,the Internet, cellular data network, dialup moderns over a telephonenetwork) or a private communications network (e.g., private LAN, leasedlines). Further, network 108 can include, but is not limited to, any oneor more of the following network topologies, including a bus network, astar network, a ring network, a mesh network, a star-bus network, a treeor hierarchical network, and the like.

In some example implementations, electronic devices 102, 104, 106 can becomputing devices such as laptop or desktop computers, smartphones,PDAs, portable media players, tablet computers, or other appropriatecomputing devices. In certain implementations, electronic devices 102,104 and/or 106 may be a mobile device. In some examples, electronicdevices 102, 104, 106 have an image capturing capability. In the exampleof FIG. 1, electronic device 102 is depicted as a smartphone, electronicdevice 104 is depicted as a desktop computer and electronic device 106is depicted as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

In some implementations, server 110 includes a processing device 112 anda data store 114. Processing device 112 executes computer instructionsstored in data store 114, for example, to facilitate collectinginformation regarding an insurable area through a virtual inspectionperformed by the user according to various embodiments. Server 110 mayfurther be in communication with remote servers 120 either through thenetwork 108 or through another network or communication means.

Remote servers 120 may be configured to perform various functionalitiesand/or storage capabilities described herein with regard to the server110 either alone or in combination with server 110. Server 110 maymaintain or be in communication with image recognition services,location services, property valuation services, insurance servicesand/or other services hosted on one or more remote servers 120.

In some example aspects, server 110 and/or one or more remote servers120 can be a single computing device such as a computer server. In otherimplementations, server 110 and/or one or more remote servers 120 canrepresent more than one computing device working together to perform theactions of a server computer (e.g., cloud computing). Server 110 and/orone or more remote servers 120 may be coupled with various remotedatabases or storage services. While server 110 and the one or moreremote servers 120 are displayed as being remote from one another, itshould be understood that the functions performed by these servers maybe performed within a single server, or across multiple servers.

Communications between the client devices 102, 104, 106, server 110and/or one or more remote servers 120 may be facilitated through variouscommunication protocols. In some aspects, client devices 102, 104, 106,server 110 and/or one or more remote servers 120 may communicatewirelessly through a communication interface (not shown), which mayinclude digital signal processing circuitry where necessary. Thecommunication interface may provide for communications under variousmodes or protocols, including Global System for Mobile communication(GSM) voice calls, Short Message Service (SMS), Enhanced MessagingService (EMS), or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messaging, CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA),Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access(WCDMA), CDMA2000, or General Packet Radio System (CPRS), among others.For example, the communication may occur through a radio-frequencytransceiver (not shown). In addition, short-range communication mayoccur, including using a Bluetooth, WiFi, or other such transceiver.

Users may interact with the system hosted by server 110, and/or one ormore services hosted by remote servers 120, through a client applicationinstalled at the electronic devices 102, 104, 106. Alternatively, theuser may interact with the system and the one or more social networkingservices through a web based browser application at the electronicdevices 102, 104, 106. Communication between client devices 102, 104,106 and the system, and/or one or more social networking services, maybe facilitated through a network (e.g., network 108).

The network 108 can include, for example, any one or more of a personalarea network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a campus area network(CAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), abroadband network (BBN), the Internet, and the like. Further, thenetwork 108 can include, but is not limited to, any one or more of thefollowing network topologies, including a bus network, a star network, aring network, a mesh network, a star-bus network, tree or hierarchicalnetwork, and the like.

In certain embodiments, a client application (e.g., as a standaloneapplication or accessed through the browser application) hosted byserver 110 and running on a mobile device (e.g. client device 102, 104or 106) is provided to facilitate performing an appraisal to gathernecessary information for making underwriting and rate decisionsregarding a new policy.

A user (e.g., a customer or prospective customer) may download theapplication to the user's mobile device. The user may create an accountfor signing onto the account and/or sign onto the application using anexisting account. The user may then select an option to perform a“do-it-yourself” (“DIY”) inspection using the mobile application, inresponse to which instructions are provided detailing how to completethe inspection. The application may provide the user (or other userperforming the inspection on behalf of user), with step by stepinstructions for performing an inspection so that the user can provideimage data to extract the needed information to validate and/orsupplement existing information needed for underwriting and/or ratedecisions. In one example, the information may include user providedinformation. In another example, information may be gathered from one ormore external sources, including, but not limited to public informationand records, listings, permits, and other information availableregarding the insurable area or portions thereof. In one example, theinformation includes information regarding the insurable area and/orinformation regarding owners and/or residents of the insurable area. Inone example, the information may include size, condition and otherinformation regarding the insurable area and/or one or more persons orentities associated with the insurable area (e.g., residents, owners,renters, etc.). In one example, the instructions direct the user tocapture images (e.g., photos or videos) of specific areas or portions ofthe insurable area for which information collection or validation isneeded. The user may upload the captured images to server 110 hostingthe client application.

In one example, the capturing and/or uploading the images may beperformed automatically. For example, the user is instructed to provideaccess to his/her image capture device to the client application. Theclient application is then able to perform the image capture and/orupload. The inspection may be a combination of image capture, panoramicimage capture, or video capture, and the captured images may includeimages and/or video captured during the inspection.

The uploaded captured images are used to validate existing user providedinformation and/or to gather additional information needed to completethe decision process for insuring the insurable area. In some examples,the decisions may be made in real time (e.g., where the informationrequiring validation or missing are extracted from the captured imagesin real time).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example process 200 for facilitating a virtualinspection of an insurable area. In step 201 an indication of a userrequesting to complete a virtual inspection is received. In one example,the user may access a client application at the user mobile device andmay request to perform a virtual inspection. In one example, the clientapplication may require that the user sign into the application using auser account (e.g. using a user name and/or password). The user accountmay be associated with the insurable area (e.g. using an address oridentifier). In one example, during authentication, a location of themobile device may be determined and compared to the location associatedwith the insurable area to confirm that the inspection is occurring atthe intended insurable area. Upon accessing the application and/orsigning in, the user may be provided with an option to begin aninspection.

In step 202, one or more information needed for completing an insurancedecision for the insurable area are determined. In one example, theinformation may include information needed to verify and/or supplementexisting information provided with regard to the insurable area (e.g.through an application, by a user and/or from one or more othersources). The existing information may be analyzed to determine specificinformation needed to complete the process. The information may forexample include size and condition information.

In step 203, based on the information needed, as determined in step 202,and/or existing information regarding the insurable area and/or personsassociated with the insurable area, a set of instructions for capturingone or more image data is provided to the user. In one example, the setof image data are images needed to obtain the information determined instep 202. In one example, the instructions may be delivered to the uservia a live agent and/or may be provided as a list of images needed tocomplete the inspection process. In some examples, the user may beinstructed to provide control of the mobile device to the system and thesystem may perform the image capture process to obtain the one or moreimage data.

In step 204. the one or more image data are received from the user. Forexample, the user may capture each image per the provided instructionsand may upload the captured images (e.g. to the server hosting theapplication). In another example, the capture and/or upload of the imagedata may be performed automatically.

In step 205, the received one or more image data is analyzed to extractthe one or more information needed. In some examples, some or all of theone or more information may be obtained by analyzing the image data andextracting information from the captured images. In one example, theanalyzing and extraction of information may be performed by an agent,and/or automatically. The information may be used to validate existinginformation (e.g. information regarding size or condition of theinsurable area), or to obtain additional information (e.g. informationregarding condition, size, etc.). Condition information may, forexample, include, conditions that increases likelihood of damage, suchas lack of upkeep and maintenance, hazardous conditions (e.g. lack offence around the pool or trampoline, missing shingles, missing siding,broken windows). Size information may include the size of the property,such as square footage information of the entire insurable area, landsize, dwelling or structure sizes, size of specific portions of theinsurable area (e.g., rooms) and/or other size information. Otherinformation may include the number of structures, and/or the floor planand details of each structure, including for example number of rooms,bathrooms and other parts of the structures and/or insurable areagenerally.

In one example, in addition to information regarding the insurable area,the information may further include information regarding items withinthe insurable area. For example, images captured within the dwelling mayinclude images of personal property or belongings (e.g. contents such asfurniture, electronics, home appliances, vehicles, bikes, bicycles,equipment, clothing, etc.) within the insurable area (e.g., home orplace of business). In some examples, one or more images (e.g., imagesor video) of user belongings are captured and processed to index objects(or “items”) in the images. The information regarding the personalproperty and belongings may include condition and price information forthe recognized objects. The information may be used in supplementing orverifying information regarding the insurable area to make an insurancedecision (e.g., value or condition decisions).

In one example, each captured image may be associated with locationinformation. For example, each image may include a geotag that indicatesa location where the image was captured. In another example, a locationof the mobile device may be determined and associated with the image.The location of each image item may be compared to a location (e.g.address) associated with the insurable area to validate that thecaptured images correspond to the insurable area. The extractedinformation may then be used to make a decision regarding insuring theinsurable area. In some examples, the decision may include determiningthat the application is in good order, and a rate and/or other detailsof the insurance policy may be determined and/or provided to the user.In another example, the decision may include determining that furtherinformation is needed. For example, a representative may, afterreviewing compiled information (e.g. the captured images and/or existinginformation), contact the user if any additional information is needed.In some examples, the decision may include determining that theinsurable area cannot be insured based on the information. Similarvirtual inspections may also be performed during the lifetime of theinsurance, for example, at time of renewal, or adjustment to the policy.

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate example graphical user interfaces provided to auser to facilitate a virtual inspection using a mobile device 300. TheUIs illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3D may for example be displayed whereinstructions are provided to the user through a live agent (e.g. a humanor computer simulated agent). FIG. 3A illustrates a first UI 310displayed to a user, when the user first accesses and/or signs on to theapplication (e.g., the virtual inspection application installed on oraccessible through mobile device 300). A menu 311 may be provided fordisplay within UI 310, displaying various services and/or functionsfacilitated by the application. The user may, upon viewing the menu 311,select menu option 312 to perform a “DIY Video Inspection.” Uponreceiving the selection, a second UI 320 may be displayed to the user asshown in FIG. 3B. UI 320 may display a message indicating that the useris being connected to an insurance agent to perform a DIY inspection.Once the connection is established, a UI 330 may be displayed to theuser, as shown in FIG. 3C. The UI 330 includes a window 331 displayingwhat is being captured, an agent window 332 displaying text or imagedata regarding the live agent, and a button 333 for ending and/orcompleting the inspection. The agent may provide step by stepinstructions for the user to capture images from one or more areaswithin the insurable area. In one example, the agent or user may controlthe image capturing process, and may capture the necessary images (e.g.video).

In one example, the mobile device 300 may be configured to enable remotecontrol of certain functions of the mobile device 300 by a live agent.For example, the application on the mobile device 300 may be configuredto access various capabilities of the mobile device 300 or capabilitiesof devices in communication with the mobile device 300. For example, theapplication may have access to one or more cameras on the mobile device(e.g., a front-facing camera and/or a rear-facing camera), microphoneson the mobile device, or other sensors or components on the device(e.g., an accelerometer, infrared sensors, a global positioning system,a light, etc.). The application on the mobile device 300 may alsoprovide a way for the live agent to access and control the variousfunctions or capabilities through the mobile device 300 and/or a system(e.g., operating system, or other application system) or processor atthe mobile device 300.

In some examples, the mobile device may provide an interface and/orcapability for the live agent to control certain capabilities of themobile device 300 (e.g., remote control). The live agent, for example,may request that the mobile device 300 capture an image, activate aflash when capturing an image, turn on a light on the mobile device,zoom in the camera, focus the camera, adjust an exposure setting on thecamera, or switch a view on a display on the mobile device.

The switching of the view on the display of the mobile device 300 mayinclude switching the view to at least one of a view of what afront-facing camera is detecting, a view of what a rear-facing camera isdetecting, or a video conferencing view of a remote camera (e.g., a viewof a camera at and/or in communication with the mobile device 300 or aview of the live agent). In additional aspects, switching a view mayinclude changing the display on the mobile device 300 to a portraitview, a landscape view, or a picture-in-picture view of multiple views.

Upon completion of the inspection (e.g., when all needed images havebeen captured), the user may select the “End Inspection” button 333. Theselection may, in some examples, upload all captured images (e.g.video). In another example, the captured images may be uploaded as theyare captured. As shown in FIG. 3D, in response to the user selecting thebutton 333, a UI 340 may be displayed to the user once the inspectionhas been completed.

FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate example graphical user interfaces provided to auser to facilitate a virtual inspection using a mobile device 400. FIG.4A illustrates a first UI 410 displayed to a user, when the user firstaccesses and/or signs on to the application. A menu 411 may be providedfor display within UI 410, displaying various services and/or functionsfacilitated by the application. The user may, upon viewing the menu 411,select menu option 412 to perform a “DIY Video Inspection.” Uponreceiving the selection, a second UI 420 may be displayed to the user asshown in FIG. 4B. UI 420 may display a list 421 of areas where the userneeds to capture images (e.g. video). A “Finish” button 422 is provided,to allow the user to end and/or complete the inspection. The user maybegin the inspection by selecting an option from the list 421 using the“take video” button, next to the specific area where the user wishes tocapture the image (e.g. video). In some examples, the user is notrequired to proceed in the order the areas are listed and may select anyof the areas to begin the inspection process. Upon selection of an areafrom the list 421, UI 430 is provided for display to the user, as shownin FIG. 4C. UI 430 may include a window 431 displaying what is beingcaptured, a capture button 432 for beginning to capture the image, abutton 433 for ending and/or completing the capture process and a button434 for canceling the capture process. In one example, the user maycontrol the image capturing process, and may capture the necessaryimages (e.g. video). In another example, the user may give control ofthe device 400 to the system and the system may perform the inspection.Upon selecting the finish button 433, the user is directed back to theUI 420, as shown in FIG. 4D. A checkmark next to the “kitchen” on list421 indicates that image data for the kitchen has been received. Theimage may be locally stored for later update (e.g. upon selection of thebutton 422) or may be uploaded once the user has captured the image. Theuser may select another item of the list 421, until all needed imagedata has been captured and/or uploaded. Upon completion of theinspection (e.g., when all needed images have been captured), the usermay select the “Finish” button 422. The selection may, in some examples,upload all captured images.

Many of the above-described features and applications are implemented assoftware processes that are specified as a set of instructions recordedon a computer readable storage medium (also referred to as computerreadable medium). When these instructions are executed by one or moreprocessing unit(s) (e.g., one or more processors, cores of processors,or other processing units), they cause the processing unit(s) to performthe actions indicated in the instructions. Examples of computer readablemedia include, but are not limited to, CD-ROMs, flash drives, RAM chips,hard drives, EPROMs, etc. The computer readable media does not includecarrier waves and electronic signals passing wirelessly or over wiredconnections.

In this specification, the term “software” is meant to include firmwareresiding in read-only memory or applications stored in magnetic storage,which can be read into memory for processing by a processor. Also, insome implementations, multiple software aspects of the subjectdisclosure can be implemented as sub-parts of a larger program whileremaining distinct software aspects of the subject disclosure. In someimplementations, multiple software aspects can also be implemented asseparate programs. Finally, any combination of separate programs thattogether implement a software aspect described here is within the scopeof the subject disclosure. In some implementations, the softwareprograms, when installed to operate on one or more electronic systems,define one or more specific machine implementations that execute andperform the operations of the software programs.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astandalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

FIG. 5 conceptually illustrates an electronic system with which someimplementations of the subject technology are implemented. Electronicsystem 500 can be a server, computer, phone, PDA, laptop, tabletcomputer, television with one or more processors embedded therein orcoupled thereto, or any other sort of electronic device. Such anelectronic system includes various types of computer readable media andinterfaces for various other types of computer readable media.Electronic system 500 includes a bus 508, processing unit(s) 512, asystem memory 504, a read-only memory (ROM) 510, a permanent storagedevice 502, an input device interface 514, an output device interface506, and a network interface 516.

Bus 508 collectively represents all system, peripheral, and chipsetbuses that communicatively connect the numerous internal devices ofelectronic system 500. For instance, bus 508 communicatively connectsprocessing unit(s) 512 with ROM 510, system memory 504, and permanentstorage device 502.

From these various memory units, processing unit(s) 512 retrievesinstructions to execute and data to process in order to execute theprocesses of the subject disclosure. The processing unit(s) can be asingle processor or a multi-core processor in different implementations.

ROM 510 stores static data and instructions that are needed byprocessing unit(s) 512 and other modules of the electronic system.Permanent storage device 502, on the other hand, is a read-and-writememory device. This device is a non-volatile memory unit that storesinstructions and data even when electronic system 500 is off. Someimplementations of the subject disclosure use a mass-storage device(such as a magnetic or optical disk and its corresponding disk drive) aspermanent storage device 502.

Other implementations use a removable storage device (such as a floppydisk, flash drive, and its corresponding disk drive) as permanentstorage device 502. Like permanent storage device 502, system memory 504is a read-and-write memory device. However, unlike storage device 502,system memory 504 is a volatile read-and-write memory, such a randomaccess memory. System memory 504 stores some of the instructions anddata that the processor needs at runtime. In some implementations, theprocesses of the subject disclosure are stored in system memory 504,permanent storage device 502, and/or ROM 510. For example, the variousmemory units include instructions for facilitating a virtual inspectionusing a mobile device according to various embodiments. From thesevarious memory units, processing unit(s) 512 retrieves instructions toexecute and data to process in order to execute the processes of someimplementations.

Bus 508 also connects to input and output device interfaces 514 and 506.Input device interface 514 enables the user to communicate informationand select commands to the electronic system. Input devices used withinput device interface 514 include, for example, alphanumeric keyboardsand pointing devices (also called “cursor control devices”). Outputdevice interfaces 506 enables, for example, the display of imagesgenerated by the electronic system 500. Output devices used with outputdevice interface 506 include, for example, printers and display devices,such as cathode ray tubes (CRT) or liquid crystal displays (LCD). Someimplementations include devices such as a touchscreen that functions asboth input and output devices.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 5, bus 508 also couples electronic system 500to a network (not shown) through a network interface 516. In thismanner, the computer can be a part of a network of computers (such as alocal area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), or an Intranet,or a network of networks, such as the Internet. Any or all components ofelectronic system 500 can be used in conjunction with the subjectdisclosure.

These functions described above can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, in computer software, firmware or hardware. The techniquescan be implemented using one or more computer program products.Programmable processors and computers can be included in or packaged asmobile devices. The processes and logic flows can be performed by one ormore programmable processors and by one or more programmable logiccircuitry. General and special purpose computing devices and storagedevices can be interconnected through communication networks.

Some implementations include electronic components, such asmicroprocessors, storage and memory that store computer programinstructions in a machine-readable or computer-readable medium(alternatively referred to as computer-readable storage media,machine-readable media, or machine-readable storage media). Someexamples of such computer-readable media include RAM, ROM, read-onlycompact discs (CD-ROM), recordable compact discs (CD-R), rewritablecompact discs (CD-RW), read-only digital versatile discs (e.g., DVD-ROM,dual-layer DVD-ROM), a variety of recordable/rewritable DVDs (e.g.,DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, etc.), flash memory (e.g., SD cards, mini-SDcards, micro-SD cards, etc.), magnetic and/or solid state hard drives,read-only and recordable Blu-Ray® discs, ultra density optical discs,any other optical or magnetic media, and floppy disks. Thecomputer-readable media can store a computer program that is executableby at least one processing unit and includes sets of instructions forperforming various operations. Examples of computer programs or computercode include machine code, such as is produced by a compiler, and filesincluding higher-level code that are executed by a computer, anelectronic component, or a microprocessor using an interpreter.

While the above discussion primarily refers to microprocessor ormulti-core processors that execute software, some implementations areperformed by one or more integrated circuits, such as applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs). In some implementations, such integrated circuits executeinstructions that are stored on the circuit itself.

As used in this specification and any claims of this application, theterms “computer”, “server”, “processor”, and “memory” all refer toelectronic or other technological devices. These terms exclude people orgroups of people. For the purposes of the specification, the termsdisplay or displaying means displaying on an electronic device. As usedin this specification and any claims of this application, the terms“computer readable medium” and “computer readable media” are entirelyrestricted to tangible, physical objects that store information in aform that is readable by a computer. These terms exclude any wirelesssignals, wired download signals, and any other ephemeral signals.

To provide for interaction with a user, implementations of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back end, middleware, or front end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network and a wide areanetwork, an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), and peer-to-peernetworks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged, or that someillustrated steps may not be performed. Some of the steps may beperformed simultaneously. For example, in certain circumstances,multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, theseparation of various system components in the embodiments describedabove should not be understood as requiring such separation in allembodiments, and it should be understood that the described programcomponents and systems can generally be integrated together in a singlesoftware product or packaged into multiple software products.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Pronouns in themasculine (e.g., his) include the feminine and neuter gender (e.g., herand its) and vice versa. Headings and subheadings, if any, are used forconvenience only and do not limit the subject disclosure. Features underone heading may be combined with features under one or more otherheading and all features under one heading need not be used together.Features under one heading may be combined with features under one ormore other heading and all features under one heading need not be usedtogether.

A phrase such as an “aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. Aphrase such as an aspect may refer to one or more aspects and viceversa. A phrase such as a “configuration” does not imply that suchconfiguration is essential to the subject technology or that suchconfiguration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Adisclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations,or one or more configurations. A phrase such as a configuration mayrefer to one or more configurations and vice versa.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example orillustration.” Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” isnot necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otheraspects or designs.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for facilitating a virtual inspection ofan insurable area, the method comprising: receiving, at a remote server,an indication of a request selected via a first graphical user interfacepresented at a user mobile device including a downloaded application,the indication received from a user at the user mobile device includingthe downloaded application configured to perform the virtual inspectionof the insurable area; determining, at the remote server, one or moreinformation items needed for making an insurance decision with respectto the insurable area, the one or more information items comprisinginformation for at least two rooms associated with the insurable area;when a live agent is available, then providing, by the remote server, alive communication session via a first wireless channel between the liveagent coupled to the remote server and the user via the user mobiledevice, the live communication session comprising communicatedinstructions from the live agent to the user for capturing, by a cameraat the user mobile device, one or more video image items for the atleast two rooms based on the determined one or more information items;when a live agent is not available, then providing, by the remoteserver, a set of visual instructions to the user mobile device via asecond wireless channel, the set of visual instructions triggering, atthe user mobile device including the downloaded application, display forthe user a second graphical user interface presenting the set of visualinstructions for capturing, by the camera at the user mobile device, theone or more video image items for the at least two rooms based on thedetermined one or more information items, the set of visual instructionscomprising an identification of the at least two rooms for which the oneor more video image items for the at least two rooms are to be captured;receiving, by the remote server, the one or more video image items fromthe user mobile device in response to the instructions; determining, bythe remote server, a location associated with the user mobile deviceand/or associated with a geotag associated with the one or more videoimage items; validating, by the remote server, that the virtualinspection is associated with the insurable area by comparing thelocation with location information associated with the insurable area;and providing, by the remote server, the insurance decision for theinsurable area based on the received one or more video image items,wherein a set of existing information provided regarding the insurablearea is validated automatically based on information extracted from theset of video image items.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningthe one or more information items is performed by: accessing the set ofexisting information provided regarding the insurable area; andidentifying the one or more information items, wherein the one or moreinformation items provide additional information needed to verify orcomplete the existing information.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: analyzing the set of video image items; and extracting atleast the information from the set of video image items.
 4. The methodof claim 3, wherein the information includes one or more size orcondition information regarding the insurable area.
 5. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the information includes information regardingbelongings or personal property in the insurable area.
 6. The method ofclaim 3, wherein generating the insurance decision comprises generatingthe insurance decision at least in part based on the information.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: establishing the livecommunication session with a connection to the live agent in response toreceiving the indication of the request.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the set of video image items further comprise data includes aplurality of still image items.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising: validating that each video image item or still image item ofthe plurality of video image items is associated with the insurable areaby: determining a location from a geotag associated with the video imageitem or still image item; and comparing the location with a locationassociated with the insurable area.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving the indication of a request comprises detecting that the userhas accessed an application at the user mobile device.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the insurable area includes an improvement to realproperty.
 12. A system for facilitating a virtual inspection of aninsurable area, the system comprising: a downloaded applicationinstalled at a user mobile device; and a remote server, the servercomprising at least one processor including program code which whenexecuted causes operations comprising: receiving, at a remote server, anindication of a request selected via a first graphical user interfacepresented at a user mobile device including a downloaded application,the indication received from a user at the user mobile device includingthe downloaded application configured to perform the virtual inspectionof the insurable area; determining, at the remote server, one or moreinformation items needed for making an insurance decision with respectto the insurable area, the one or more information items comprisinginformation for at least two rooms associated with the insurable area;when a live agent is available, then providing, by the remote server, alive communication session via a first wireless channel between the liveagent coupled to the remote server and the user via the user mobiledevice, the live communication session comprising communicatedinstructions from the live agent to the user for capturing, by a cameraat the user mobile device, one or more video image items for the atleast two rooms based on the determined one or more information items;when a live agent is not available, then providing, by the remoteserver, a set of visual instructions to the user mobile device via asecond wireless channel, the set of visual instructions triggering, atthe user mobile device including the downloaded application, display forthe user a second graphical user interface presenting the set of visualinstructions for capturing, by the camera at the user mobile device, theone or more video image items for the at least two rooms based on thedetermined one or more information items, the set of visual instructionscomprising an identification of the at least two rooms for which the oneor more video image items for the at least two rooms are to be captured;receiving, by the remote server, the one or more video image items fromthe user mobile device in response to the instructions; determining, bythe remote server, a location associated with the user mobile deviceand/or associated with a geotag associated with the one or more videoimage items; validating, by the remote server, that the virtualinspection is associated with the insurable area by comparing thelocation with location information associated with the insurable area;and providing, by the remote server, the insurance decision for theinsurable area based on the received one or more video image items,wherein a set of existing information provided regarding the insurablearea is validated automatically based on information extracted from theset of video image items.
 13. The system of claim 12, the operationsfurther comprising: providing the insurance decision for the insurablearea based on the at least one of the one or more information items. 14.The system of claim 12, wherein the set of video image items furthercomprise data includes one or more of videos or still image items.
 15. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium including program code whichwhen executed by at least one processor causes operations comprising:receiving, at a remote server, an indication of a request selected via afirst graphical user interface presented at a user mobile deviceincluding a downloaded application, the indication received from a userat the user mobile device including the downloaded applicationconfigured to perform the virtual inspection of the insurable area;determining, at the remote server, one or more information items neededfor making an insurance decision with respect to the insurable area, theone or more information items comprising information for at least tworooms associated with the insurable area; when a live agent isavailable, then providing, by the remote server, a live communicationsession via a first wireless channel between the live agent coupled tothe remote server and the user via the user mobile device, the livecommunication session comprising communicated instructions from the liveagent to the user for capturing, by a camera at the user mobile device,one or more video image items for the at least two rooms based on thedetermined one or more information items; when a live agent is notavailable, then providing, by the remote server, a set of visualinstructions to the user mobile device via a second wireless channel,the set of visual instructions triggering, at the user mobile deviceincluding the downloaded application, display for the user a secondgraphical user interface presenting the set of visual instructions forcapturing, by the camera at the user mobile device, the one or morevideo image items for the at least two rooms based on the determined oneor more information items, the set of visual instructions comprising anidentification of the at least two rooms for which the one or more videoimage items for the at least two rooms are to be captured; receiving, bythe remote server, the one or more video image items from the usermobile device in response to the instructions; determining, by theremote server, a location associated with the user mobile device and/or,associated with a geotag associated with the one or more video imageitems; validating, by the remote server, that the virtual inspection isassociated with the insurable area by comparing the location withlocation information associated with the insurable area; and providing,by the remote server, the insurance decision for the insurable areabased on the received one or more video image items, wherein a set ofexisting information provided regarding the insurable area is validatedautomatically based on information extracted from the set of video imageitems.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, themethod further including the steps of: analyzing the set of video imageitems; and extracting at least the information from the set of videoimage items.
 17. A method for facilitating a virtual inspection of aninsurable area, the method comprising: receiving, at a remote server, anindication of a request selected via a first graphical user interfacepresented at a user mobile device including a downloaded application,the indication received from a user at the user mobile device includingthe downloaded application configured to perform the virtual inspectionof the insurable area; determining, at the remote server, one or moreinformation items needed with respect to the insurable area; providing,by the remote server, a set of instructions via a wireless channel tothe user at the mobile device for capturing one or more image itemsbased on the determined one or more information items, the set ofinstruction triggering when received the user mobile device includingthe downloaded application to display a second graphical user interfaceincluding the set of instructions; receiving, by the remote server, theone or more image items from the mobile device in response to theinstructions; determining, by the remote server, a location associatedwith the user mobile device and/or associated with a geotag for the oneor more video image items; validating, by the remote server, that thevirtual inspection is associated with the insurable area by comparingthe location with a location associated with the insurable area; andproviding, by the remote server, an insurance decision for the insurablearea based on the received one or more image items, wherein a set ofexisting information provided regarding the insurable area is validatedautomatically based on the location of the mobile device or from thegeotag associated with the one or more image items.